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Red Imported Fire Ant Environmental Impacts

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An invasive species is any kind of living organism that is not native to an ecosystemand usually causes harm to the ecosystem (National Wildlife Federation, 2014). Native species have not coevolved with the invasive species and may not have the ability to deal with the introduced species (Holway et al. 2002). The Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) is a relatively aggressive species of ant native to South America. It was introduced on multiple occasions into the United States in the early- to mid-1900s (Callcott et al. 1996). Since then, it has spread to the very borders of its geographical climate tolerance, and through acclimation, hybridization, and the effects of global climate change, has managed to extend its range much farther than experts ever anticipated. It is now the subject of much research, as it has impacted not only ecological communities but the agricultural economy as well. It is estimated that RIFA have an impact of around $6 billion a year due to control, medical treatment, and damage to property (Lard et al. 2006). Agriculturally, Red Imported Fire Ants can cause financial damages in a number of different ways including eating various parts of the plant or causing the disruption of machinery. (Collins and Scheffrahn, Last Accessed 2014) It is known that temperature is …show more content…

In Sike’s study, the Red Imported Fire Ant caused a decrease in nest success by 34%. Red Imported Fire Ants were seen devouring young birds in 212 out of 357 nests in the study site. The researchers were able to reduce fire ant predation by applying AMDRO (a perimeter ant blocker) in colony sites known to contain fire ants. Sikes notes that should their research end or become less intensive; the ants would likely destroy the Cliff Swallow populations in their study area. This was in 1986, but I haven’t been able to find any more literature updating this

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